An Irish Coast Guard crew has paid tribute to the four members killed in the Rescue 116 crash three years ago with a special 'signature in the sky'.
Captain Dara Fitzpatrick, Captain Mark Duffy, and winch men Ciarán Smith and Paul Ormsby all lost their lives on Tuesday 14th March 2017, when their helicopter crashed during a rescue mission off the Co Mayo coast.
Meanwhile, the current Rescue 116 crew flew a special path through the sky following a rescue in Dublin yesterday - which left a radar trail that read 'R116' inside a heart.
Images of the 'signature in the sky' have been posted online, with the crew saying they feel "ok but just ok" three years after the loss of their colleagues.
In a message on Facebook yesterday, the current Rescue 116 team said: "Rescue 116 has been the call-sign for the Irish Coast Guard Rescue Helicopter in Dublin since it's inception in 1998.
"It was a call-sign our friends were proud to use & it is the call-sign still proudly used by the Dublin Based SAR Crews to honour their legacy.
"Our thoughts, as always, are with Paul, Ciarán, Mark & Dara & the families they left behind."
Meanwhile, the Irish Coast Guard said the four Rescue 116 crew members were "four of Ireland's finest".
They added: "Two brave souls were brought home, two remain lost to the sea, but all four will be forever remembered for the sacrifice they made."
As our frontline & emergency workers again distinguish themselves during this current crisis, we remember Dara, Mark, Paul & Ciarán who we lost three years ago today. Four of Irelands finest stepped into the darkness to come to the aid of strangers.
Go Mairidís Beo#Rescue116 pic.twitter.com/o6yB7PBFf4— Irish Coast Guard (@IrishCoastGuard) March 14, 2020
